Elevated railway



sept. 21 ,1926.

A. LOCKWOOD ELEVATED RAILWAY Filed OCL. 16. 1925 -3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inl... I. Iv|...|4

sept. 21 ,1926. `1,600,767

' A. LOCKWOD ELEVATED RAILWAY Y Filed oct, '16. 1925 s sheets-sheet 2 Sept. y i y I i A, LocKwOOD ELEVATED RAILWAY 1925 :s sheets-sheet Filed 09t- Mw M Y Patented Sept. 21, 1926.

UNIT-ED s'rarss ABRAHAM LOCKVOOD, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIIORN'IA.l

nLnvA'rnn RAILWAY.

l Application led October 1G, 1925. Serial No. 62,781.

yMy invention pertains to elevatedl railways and embodies the features of the construction k'of the track system and a street installationaswell as the particular type of runningand driving gear for the cars.

Anobje'ct of my invention is the develop- `inentof an elevated railway structure which site side oft-he web of the track.

may beutilized in conjested cities, utilizing the elevated structure to support a foot pathv above the ground level sidewalk, whereby the footpath may be located at substantial-M ly the secondfstories of buildings and the cars may be` boarded from special loading and unloading platforms reached from the said foot paths.

Another feature of my invention in the foot paths, one on the roadway level, the

other elevated-iat a convenient position to have access to the second stories of buildings and allow convenient loading and unloading of the cars. On account of the siiligle'track systemy the cars may overhang elevated pedestrian foot path.

LAnother objectl of my invention is inthe car mounted on a single track and the drive system therefor. This comprises mounting` the vcars on a single track with single wheels in line run on the top of the track and with driving wheels/or discs engaging the oppo- The cars are thus supported above the track and the center of gravity of loaded `cars is above the track. In this construction the loading may be proportioned between the car structureand the driving gear and by lowering the car seats in'regard to the supporting wheels to have the center of gravity below or onksubstantially a level with the supporting track.v l

'A feature of my combined equipment of the elevated track construction and thespecial cars withthe central supporting wheels and depending driving wheels is to allowy travel at'very high speeds with safety.

Another feature is to utilize a type of supporting wheel and lateral ydriving discs or wheels, preferably having rubber tires to f forni a quietV traction system.

My invention will be more readily under-l stood fromv the following. description kand drawings,-in-whichk l Figure 1 is a side elevation of 'my elevated track structure with car mount-ed thereon, showing in ypartial section the running gear and lateral driving discs dependring from the car; Fig. 2 is a verticalcross y K y y I sectionthrough my elevated track structure and through a carinA a position intersecting the running igearj` and' also indicating the manner of loading the track structure to form relevated "y foot paths and loading platforms;

Fig is a detail horizontalsection onthe linef ofrFigure l in thedirection of the arrows," showing' the type` of rdriving discs for driving the car,kr the discs beingy y shown engagingthe opposite sides ofthe track rail; f 7 n lFig. 4 is a plan view of ing a turntabletype of crossing;

f Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the cross over on the line 5-5of Fig. 4L in the direction of the arrows, indicating the control device for the turntable mounted in a column.

Fig. k6 isan enlargedlelevation in detail`r of the type of'k rail yjoints for rail having a highweb;

Fig. 7' is adiagrammatic illustration ofa two wayelectric c'ircuitsupplying power to the motors on the ears.

suppbrting the Referring first to'Fig. rrthegeneralelevated structure in regard to city streetsis substantially as follows:

The roadway is designated by the numeral l having a curb 2,/ a sidewalk 3 at the side thereof, the front wallsl ofbuildings being designated bythe nuineralft. An elevated track' structure designated :generally by the numeral 5 is, supported on a series of columns 6 placed adjacent they curb. Brackets 7 bridge between the columnsy andthe front walls* of the" buildings and support an elea crossy over sliowvated foot path `8, which has railings 9 to"n keep Athe pedestrians away yfrom the cars. The loading platforms l0 are preferably reached by a series of steps ll or stairways from the second story of they buildings.` The elevated structure would preferably be de? signed soy that the foot path 8 would be onv substantially a level with the secondstories of the buildings and the loading platforms lO'ata suiiicientheight so that pedestrians can walk underneath.

The supporting track ways are indicated generally by the numeral 15 and are car ied to a suiiicientheight to elevaterthe cars designated generally by the numeral 16, a suficient distance above the-foot path 8 so that pedestrians may walk underneath the overhanging sides of the cars.

It will thus be seen that with the elevated structure as above described, the roadways are left completely clear, the groundl level sidewalk is unobstructed and is roofed over, the elevated foot paths are in a convenient position adjacent the second stories of buildings, the loading platforms are in a convenient position relative to the elevated platforms and to the second stories of the buildings, and the cars may overhang the elevated foot paths without causing inconvenience to the pedestrians thereon. It will be noted also that my elevated structure does not interfere with the lighting` of the roadways or of the second stories of the buildings, the only obstruction being by the elevated foot path, which forms a cover for the sidewalk.

The struc-tural details of theV elevated tracks is substantially as follows:

As above'mentioned a series of columns 6 are spaced .along the roadways at substantially the curb line and carry the supporting track ways 15 on the tops of theV columns. These track ways comprise a heavy vertical web 17 with flange plates 18 and 19 secured to the top and the bottom of the webs by continuous angles 20 and 21, these elements being riveted together in the ordinary manner of building up an I beam type of girder. At each column angular fish plates 22 are secured to the top of the flange plate 18 outside of the angles 20 and are riveted or bolted to angles 23, the latter being riveted to the columns adjacent the tops thereof. In this manner the track girder is supported from the columns and is of such depth as required by the driving mechanism that the columns may be spaced a considerable distance apart, as it is in* tended that a track girder will form a complete span from one column to the next.

In order to make a proper' joint for the driving gear of the cars, as hereafter describer, and to allow for contraction and eX- pansion, the webs at each end form a bevel joint 24, the lish plates are formed on one side of the joint with a slot 25 to allow the whole track girder to expand and contract with changes of temperature, it being understood that one end of each girder would be bolted solid and the other end being supported to have suliicient longitudinal moves ment for expansion and contraction. The top flange plate 19 at each joint is provided with a fish plate 26 somewhat similar to the fish plates 22, one end of which will be fixed to one track girder and having a slight sliding relation to the other track girder. The

purpose of the upper fish plates is to assure at all times a. proper vertical alignment of the web sections of the adjacent rail lgir-ders.

In this type of track gir-der construction it will be understood that as the girders are oiJ a considerable height compared to the width of the web they must be securely riveted to the tops of the columns and carefully aligned to give vertical webs with the upper flange plate 19 being horizontal. A tread plate 27 is secured to the flange plate 19 by countersunk bolts or rivets 2S and forms a run way for the wide wheels Iof the cars, as hereafter described. This Vtread plate is designed to be removabley when worn, and may thus be readily replaced. 'lhese plates would have a type of joint overlapping the breaking joint with the track girders and therefore giving suhstanV` tially a continuous support for the cars, preventing any action at the joints, as is common with the ordinary type of rails supported on ties.

A type cf cross over is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 and indicates a right angular crossing of two tracks designated respectively as a main track 30 and a cross over track 31. A turntable S2 is supported on a` turntable column 38, which has a bearing plate secured to the top thereof carryii'ig a supporting plate on anti-friction bearings 36. rlhis supporting plate carries the track n ays 15. A shaft 3l' extends downwardly through the column from the supporting plate 35 and has a collar aty the lower end thereof with a pivoted arm 39 extend ing laterally therefrom. This arm may operate through the slot 40 in the column,

the" slot having angular ui'isets 41 to assureV that thev track is turned the proper amount and is in accurate alignmecit with either of the three tracks.

It is only necessary that the opposir ends 42 and 43 of the tracks be separated a sullicient distance to allow the driving gear of the cars to pass between and clear such ends. Therefore the turntable and the turning portion of the track may be made comparatively small compared with the size of the cars and the size of the track. Although the cross over Vis shown as of the right angular type, it wll be understood that acute and obtuse angles of cross overs may be formed in the same manner, merely requiring different sizes of turntables to give the proper clearance. A somewhat similar type of turntable may be utilized in switching the cars from one track to another, merely lhaving the tracksl on such curvature as the running gear of the cars will allow.

The cars and their supporting and driv-` generally yjby the :nuineral"itl and comprises Y" a body 'structuref50,- which preferably` has a `dropped center'sectioni A'and raised endA` sections 52. The type'of car illustrated does *besubject to; considerable change,rin accordvatedi railways.

ance' with the requirementsvof different ele# The running and driving gear for supporting the oarsgis designated y.as'aunitary structure vby the numerall- U25*A 'and is'preferablyin the form-ofapair ofv tru'ckslat each 'endfof they car.` g'fl'ieseffaren'iou'nted to have av slight'swivellingaction andtheswivelling arrangement is more or less diagrammatic, comprising a king bolt igfafixed disc fsecured' toy the, iioor tiof the car body vand vthe disc engaging ak supe' )ortiner o'late Thavin' anti-friction bean e l e ings 58 therebetween. "lhe' truck frames 59k hang' d'ownwardlyf from 'the plate being secured'r'thereto in l* any Vsuitable manner.

' Vsystem, that shown being bythe 'two` line rlhese frames 'carry an axle 6()4 extending from side to side, on which is journaled the supporting wheels 61,v the.- latter ybeing cov. Y ered by -wide r'ubberftires1.62.y The wheels.

' and-'aXlesm-ay' be mounted in any suitable having 'vertical bars 64 and longitudinalv vided with' vertical journals', in which are mounted thefdriving axles 68, thelatter manner, preferably ron anti-friction roller bearings# The truck yframes 59 are illustiated"lasv havingdepending wnio'tor iframes 623;* each connecting rails '65. These' frames are vprovided withL inturned'brackets 6GeXtending inwardlybetween the'webplate 17 of the track jsystein.y The bracket-s 66 are probein'g connectedto the motorslbQ. `Forthe sake o'fsimplicity .the connection isshown dire-ct, although-the aXles may-i be provided.

' with gears drivenfby pinions from motors ilthe car bodyy and 'that the weight of thev cars carried on ,-Wheels Ahavinga\.\v1d`e-y tread,v this beingA ofy vsufficient widthr to allow` mountedV onlthe motor frames. The drivingi axles 68 carry driving 'discs or Wheels.

70, whichsare preferably rubber covered and are positioned to 4vbear against opposite sides of" the trackweb'l?.y f From th'e-abovedescription it Willbe seenthatthe oar yis carried by -a'p'airfof trucks'l at each vendfeach ofthese-truckshaving a slight rs'wivelling movement in. relation to use of rubber tires,f.hence giving arqui'et and tof'a certain e-Xtentresilientr acti'oirto the supporting wheelswiilthough in the design .shown` thecar body is now shown as spring supported, itis to be understood that spring suspension may be introduced if de-k iiated tirzes,.fin order to always have-.contact 'withwthewebfand to .maintain a resilient bearing thereon. On account of thetype oftireSIuSed, the drivingdiscs Willalii ays 'havefcontactfwith veither oney sidejor the other of theiveb'and allow for the slight and unpreventablefside sway'of the can.

'The' balancing of rthe carl may bevery accurately adjusted in regard to the fpositioning of the center `ofgravityin regard. V,to the.supportingivheels land track system.

Itwill be understood that the dri ving trucks f must' bef of vconsiderable weight which is Vnecessarily belowthe track surface andthe floor ofthe car need lonly be at a slight ele-p vation above the Wearing track in order 'to clear the cross overs.

suitable type of feed and return circuits. Iii/'the illustration the-power is carried bytrolley wires and 76 supported. from ythetraek web by insulators 7-'7 properly designed to allowthe trolleys 78 to bear against the Hoivever, if` desired i' the bodyof the carmay extend ...below the Wires withoutpressing ythe wires against the y metal web. .Theelectrio leads 79 ,areyindi cated diagraminatically from .the trolley. through a controller 80 indicated diagrammatically to the motors and hencek to the return circuit. t will be understood thatr the power feed'may be through rails suitably supported yin any conventional manner; ,v

The general `type of electric circuit- `isp-indicatedin Fig. 7, in which G.indicates a gene f erator, kF. W. feed Wire, R. W. .returnovire and M. the motor on a` car. M ,f

T'Asthe particular drive for carsfissnot a feature of Inyinventionythesev may ber f driven 'byy storage batteries, internalcoinbustion engines, orthe combination internal f combustion engine and electric drive.`

I have not illustrated any particular type of braking Vsystem on the cars, but it .will

bef understood lthat any ktype @suitable for' heavy trucks or motor vstageswill be -satisfactory and would preferably act on .drums secured tothe load carrying 'wheels 6l.

f -The type :ofcar "illustrated in yFigure l is intended yto disclosea light type offelefj' vated `car for frequentanti rapid service,

Vbut it ywill'be yunderstood that the' carrying capacity. of the ca-'rs maybe increased or diminished, in accordance withthe requirements of the y.particular railway system. f However there should be a suiicient numbery of supporting Wheels kso that these may have `trucks and motor stages. The equipment may also provide forV connecting the cars in trains controlled by a single motorman, if desired. Y K

It will thus be seen that my total inven l tion comprehends' a simplified elevated track systemV placed in convenient locations with the least obstruction to the present surface travelling,provides conveniently positioned foot paths adjacent the second stories 4of.

buildings and interferes very little with the lighting of thev streets and the sidewalks and ground floors ofthe buildings.

The type ofcar andthe manner ofV supporting it and. driving on the deep girders allows the use of resilient tire, thereby eliminating the chief source of noise in elevated'structures. Moreover, on account of the'engagement of the driving. wheels with theY web of the girder, derail-ment is prevented, unless the whole girder structure collapses. Therefore the cars and trains may Vbe driven at a much higher speed than is now possible with the ordinary elevatedl railway system. Y

Other detail advantages will be seen from the above description and drawings.

It is manifest that my invention in its various aspects of elevated track structure.

positioned at substantially the curb line of the street, having a roadway on o ne side of the columns and a.V sidewalk on the other, the track being in the form of a single deep girder of the vI-beam type having a web of considerable depth compared to the width of the flanges, a foot path supported bv the columns adjacent the second stories of buildings, the vfoot path being below the' track and adapted to form a path for pedestrians substantially parallel and spaced from the web of the track, 'and loadingr platforms spaced along the foot path with steps leading from the foot pathjand from the second stories of buildings thereto.

2. An elevated railway las claimed in claim l, *having in` addition cars supported on a single track, said cars having load supporting wheels bearing on the upper `surface accepter of the track, having driving wheels bearing against the web of the track and motors connected to the driving wheels, said motors beingI mounted in a framev below the sup porting wheels and positioned adjacent thev `web of the track. Y l 3. An elevated railway as claimed in- V claim l, havin@` in addition cars supported. on a single trac i, said cars havingload supe porting wheels bea-ring on the upper surface of the track and having driving wheels bearing against the web of the track, the

driving wheels being driven by motors suspended below the upper surface ofthe track and adjacent the driving wheels, the body of the car extending sideways beyond thel suplporting wheels and overhanging the footY at i. v

P l. An elevated railway comprising in combination a track structure in the form of an I type of girder having a web Vof cons siderable depth, a car structure having supporting wheels running on the upper flange ofthe girder, said car structure having a. frame with driving wheels, said driving wheels engaging the web of the girder on opposite sides thereof and electric motors mounted in the frame below the upper flange of the girder, said motors being connected tothe driving wheels.

5. ln an elevated railway, a' car having a car body, supporting wheels at each end centrally positioned and in alignment, said wheels being adapted to support the car on a single track, truck frames depending from the car body, driving wheels mounted in said frames, said driving wheels being positioned below the car body and adapted to engage opposite sides of ay supporting track Vstructure and a driving mechanism for said wheels mounted in the said frames and electric motors in the frames below the support-ing wheels adjacent the sides -of the supporting track structure, said motorsbeing connected to the driving wheels.

6. In an elevated railway as claimed in claim 5, in which the driving wheels are vertically supported and adapted toy engage the opposite sides of the flange of an I` type of track girder, said wheels having a traction surface of pneumatic vtires and the supporting wheels having flat treads adapt--v ed to engage the upper flange of an I type of girder, said .tread having a resilient covering. v

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification. Y

ABRAHAM LOCKVGOD. 

